During my search for an apartment complex, this was one of the many questions I had about purchasing an apartment. It was difficult finding information on the topic. After doing some research, I found some useful information that helped me gain a better understanding.

Do Apartment Owners the Land? Yes, when buying an apartment the land is included in the purchase. In fact, an environmental test must be conducted on the land, surveying the history for possible contaminants in the soil.

Commercial apartment owners may own the land, but there are many situations when property owners may not own their land. Find out which route is best for you when buying a property.

Apartment Owners Own the Land Here’s Why

There are many situations in which property owners may not own their land, but Apartment ownership is not one of them.

When buying an apartment, the land is included in the purchase. During the initial stage of purchasing the property, certain safety checks are required. A Phase 1 environmental site assessment is a test of the land history via documents search.

The history of the property is looked over thoroughly.
This is done to determine if there were any operations that could have contaminated the soil, like a gas station for example. If this test comes back with no cases of possible contamination.

Then you as the apartment owner can proceed with the purchase. However, if the test comes back with any operations that could have caused possible contamination. Another test would have to be performed known as the Phase 2 environmental site assessment. This test goes into more depth and actually requires a sample of the soil to be tested.

Not only do apartment owners have to focus on the analysis of the property, the land evaluation is just as important. When it comes to owning the land on commercial property, the process is a lot different than owning a home.

Buying an apartment is viewed similarly to buying a business, and there are numerous risks when starting a business. Dealing with hazardous waste can be costly, that’s why it’s important to inspect the land thoroughly when purchasing an apartment.

Instances Where a Property Owner May Not Own the Land

There are many instances where you can purchase a property without owning the land. This can fall under commercial retail business like movie theaters, grocery stores, and restaurants. It also applies to the residential sector as well.

Condo

When you purchase a condo the land is not included in the deal, you’re paying for the air space, interior walls, flooring surface, and every wall excluding the shared walls. The shared areas of the condominium including the common areas are included in your ownership.

Before purchasing a condo you should always look at the deceleration of covenant’s conditions and restrictions. This document will include a list of everything you on with your property, as well as the rules and regulations in a HOA environment.

Town-home

A town-home is treated a bit differently in terms of ownership. When purchasing, the land could be included depending on the HOA structure. This information can be found in the CC’s and R deceleration or from your real estate agent.

Mobile Home

Mobile homes and trailer parks are treated very similarly, you can purchase the land in addition to the home if the HOA is structured in that manner. A large some of mobile home parks tend to be owned by companies that rent the land to the residents, even though they own the mobile home.

There are cases where you can own the land, and pay HOA fees for the shared services they offer. Pools, rec-rooms, fitness centers, and utilities may be included with ownership justifying the HOA fees.

Should I Buy a Residential or Commercial Property Without the Land Being Included?

Whether or not the land is included in the purchase depends on your personal preference. I’ve never owned a condo, town-home or alike but I’ve lived in a town-home and got a good feel of how everything works. I tend to purchase properties where the land is included with the deal.

I have an issue with asking an association for permission to make improvements on my land. That’s only one drawback of when it comes to purchasing any of the above; but there are many positives as well.

All in all, mobile homes, trailer homes, and condos/town-homes tend to be cheaper than purchasing a home and if it fits your budget and your living needs then it’s the way to go.

How To find The Owner of Apartment Complex

Prior to the rise of the internet, you would have to take a few hours out of your day, drive to your local county building and dig through numerous records in order to find the information about the property owner.

Now it has become much easier to locate the information, all that’s needed is the property address. It differs slightly from county to county, but most counties have digitized their process. There’re two steps that are required:

1. Locate the county tax assessor’s office online
2. Locate the tax assessor’s property identification form, and input the property’s address.

What you will be given is the tax identification number and additional info related to the property. In order to find the property owners name or company, you’ll have to dig a little deeper, by visiting the county records office in person.

Finding the owner of a closely held limited liability corporation

The method above works most of the time unless the apartment has been placed in a limited liability partnership.

In this situation the county tax accessors office will give you the address of the business entity. If the address is not provided then the owners are intentionally hiding their address. Once the address is received you can send a letter in regards to your concerns.

Related Questions?

Can you own a single apartment unit?

A single apartment can be sold and would be considered a condo. The purchase would include the interior walls and paint, flooring surface and the common areas. All of this info is listed in the CC’s and R deceleration.

Does HOA own my Land?

HOA does own the land and you own a fraction of the HOA. The home association is responsible for the exterior components of the building: exterior walls, roof, landscaping etc. However, there are cases where you can buy town-homes that include the land.

In Summary

When it comes to Apartment ownership the land is included with the purchase. Not only does an inspection need to be performed on the property, an inspection needs to be performed on the land as well. When this checks out then it’s safe to say that you can proceed with the analysis of the property.

Owning the land does not apply to the purchase of all commercial property businesses. Companies like home depot, Walgreens, and Autozone own the rights to their business but not their land. The land lease and payments are made to real-estate based companies.

Owning a residential property in an HOA environment may be concern if you intend to own your land. So, do your due diligence when it comes to purchasing a property and the land.